1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a safety device in a lighting rod, in which a flame is produced and jetted from a rod-like top end portion by a lighting operation of an operation member, wherein the lighting operation of the operation member is locked when the lighting rod is not used, and wherein the lock is released and the lighting operation is enabled when the lighting rod is used.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lighting rods are useful apparatuses, which can light a fire easily when trigger-like operation members are pushed down. However, with the lighting rods, persons, such as children, who do not know how to use the lighting rods appropriately, can light a fire carelessly. Therefore, the lighting rods are not favorable from the viewpoint of safety.
Accordingly, a need exists for a lighting rod having enhanced safety characteristics such that persons, who do not know how to use the lighting rod appropriately, cannot light a fire carelessly, or such that accidental lighting may not occur. To satisfy such a need, lighting rods provided with various safety devices have been proposed.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62(1987)-5565, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60(1985)-122828, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,865, safety devices in lighting rods have been proposed, wherein a locking member for obstructing the driving operation of an operation member is manually moved between a position for the locking and a position for the lock release. With the proposed safety devices, after the locking member has been moved from the position for the locking to the position for the lock release and a fire has been lighted, if the locking member is not returned manually to the position for the locking, the safety device is kept in the state in which the lock is released.
With the conventional lighting rods described above, the problems occur in that, after the locking member has been moved to the position for the lock release and a fire has been lighted, if the user forgets to return the locking member from the position for the lock release to the position for the locking, and the locking member is thus left to stand at the position for the lock release, the locking member does not execute the locking function as the safety device, and therefore the careless lighting described above will occur.
Also, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,596; 5,240,408 and 5,368,473 structures for gas lighters have been proposed, wherein a locking member, which can be deformed or can slide, is located at a portion of an actuation lever, which is pushed down when a fire is to be lighted. The locking member disables the actuation lever from operating. When the locking member is manually operated to a position for the lock release and the actuation lever is thereafter pushed down, the lock member moves to a position capable of locking in accordance with the operation for pushing the actuation lever down. Alternatively, when a finger of the user is moved away from the gas lighter, the locking member returns to the state of the locking by the force of a spring. In this manner, with the proposed structures for gas lighters, the locking member is not left to stand in the state of the lock release.
However, the aforesaid safety mechanisms for gas lighters cannot be directly applied to a lighting rod, which has a different structure. Therefore, a need exists for a mechanism suitable for the lighting rod to be achieved with a simple structure in relation to the structure a main body of a lighting rod, the shape of an operation member for carrying out the operation for the lighting, a protection frame formed around the operation member, and the like, such that a lighting operation may be locked when the lighting rod is not used, such that the lock of the lighting operation may be released by an operation independent from the operation member and the lighting may thereby be enabled when a fire is to be lighted, and such that, after the lighting, the state of the locking may be restored automatically, accompanying a returning movement of the operation member.